The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas has stated that the insurance sector, rather than being whittled down or suffering a set back, as has been the case across many other sectors following the COVID-19 pandemic, is actually growing.
He gave this insight in his keynote address at the retreat organised by the Commission for journalists at the Ibom Icon Hotel and Resorts, Uyo, capital city of Akwa Ibom State over the weekend.
“The importance of insurance post COVID19 and the aftermath of endSARS protest cannot be overemphasize hence, the marginal increase in the uptake of policies boosting the retail market and the annuity component”, the Commisioner said.
Buttressing the point, he said,”The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics figures has shown that the sector has recorded positive increase in almost all parameters and have rated the sector as one of the fastest growing sectors in activities”.
Speaking on the Commission’s efforts which are spurring the growth and stability in the sector, Thomas had this to say, “As you are aware, the Commission has been implementing various market developmental initiatives to lift the insurance sector to a global standard through: risk based supervision Framework; Encouragement of investment in digital capabilities and automation – e.g. launching of NAICOM Portal, launching of the Bimalab Project on the 9th of February, 2021 and Enforcement of the compulsory insurance products in Nigeria – via partnership with agencies and states.”
According to him, other initiatives of the Commission in this regard are, capacity development programmes – actuarial, competency framework etc; sensitisation of various stakeholders – MSMEs on benefits of insurance, MDAs insurance Desk Officers etc and introduction of regulatory reforms and policies e.g issuance of web aggregators’ guidelines.
“The Commission is trying to open up the market across the geo-political zones by reaching out to the states where insurance penetration is perceived to be very low.”
The Commissioner added, “We can gladly say that the Nigerian Insurance market has undergone substantial structural and regulatory reforms over the years following the market development initiatives being implemented and the evolution of Nigeria’s financial sector in the last decade which has been characterized by digital transformation.
On the notorious issue of claims settlement within the industry, the Commission plans to publish a ranking of insurance companies on the basis of the number of claims received and settled by them within a given period.
He used the opportunity to thank the journalists for their support in promoting the insurance sector in Nigeria.
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